


The Place You Gave Me

by my_own_liver



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, Like if amsterdam's golden age had been in the 1800's, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Tsukishima Kei, Sailor Yamaguchi, Slow Burn, Society Boy Tsukki, yes i am only here for the cool pirate boat aesthetic not the trash capitalism, yes this is specific
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_own_liver/pseuds/my_own_liver
Summary: Tsukishima Kei should have drowned when he was eleven years old, but he was saved by a skinny, freckled boy. A boy that knew the names of the stars and how to catch crayfish with his bare hands. A boy who dreamed of exploring the world and found magic in the most mundane places. A boy who, no matter how many times he was knocked down, always stood back up.When Kei learns his best friend disappeared on an expedition to map the frigid, uncharted waters of the north, he must decide just how far he's willing to go to bring him home safe.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	1. Something Calls For Me To Find

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all choosing the tags for this fic was a time haha anyone else suffer from super niche premise syndrome?
> 
> Welcome to my weirdly specific historical AU feat. our fave childhood friends to lovers Yams & Tsukki! I've got the entire fic drafted, so I'm super excited to start posting weekly again. I'm posting two chapters today to give you a little taste of what's to come (‐＾▽＾‐)✧
> 
> More tags will be added as we go, but the rating/warnings won't change. No beta, so plz forgive any mistakes! I will go back and do an edit once I've finished, so thank you for your patience!!
> 
> Go grab some tea, curl up in a cozy blanket, and get ready for an adventure!

_-Now-_

On the outskirts of the port city of Miyagi, where the brick facades of the townhouses had long gone white from the ocean spray, was a strip of sand that one could call a beach. A rough, stone seawall separated it from the dirt road above, accessible only by a little stair of uneven stones. An ancient pier extended from street level out across the water beyond. It was beneath this decrepit construction of cured wood that Kei found himself crawling in the sand on a Tuesday afternoon.

The stone wall beneath the aging pier was smooth. There had been no mention in the paper of any unexpected arrivals at the city docks, and yet Kei found himself making the pilgrimage to that spot almost every morning, so long as the weather allowed. 

He dusted off his jacket as he emerged once more into the sun. He turned his back on the ocean breeze and jogged up the weathered steps to the tamed environment of the city streets. Traces of last night’s rain pooled in the ruts carved into the dirt road by carriages long gone. Kei stepped over the puddles and followed the curve of the coastline towards the port, shoving his chilled hands into his pockets. 

The rugged, rocky seawall gave way to carefully constructed embankments, the docks jutting out into the steel grey water at regular intervals. Dozens of ships huddled along them, their masts swaying in the breeze like the bare trees at the edge of the city park. Larger vessels were anchored out in the bay, their crew nothing more than insects scurrying along the deck. 

The market was in full swing. Fishmongers spilled out of the dingy, hulking exchange building and out onto the streets. Countless voices carried on the pungent wind hawking their latest catch while nameless children wove through the crowd playing their games of pretend. From one day to the next it was hard to distinguish the pirate kings from the dragons. 

Kei ran his thumb over the coins stashed in his pocket. He would wait. No doubt someone would be back to spend the rest of his allowance on sweet treats and fried monstrosities before the year was out. It was looking like it might be a belated birthday gift at this point, but it was alright. Traditions could still be upheld regardless of the day. 

As he waited for a cart to pass along the main thoroughfare, a small boy collided into his side. Large, brown eyes went wide with fear as he stumbled back, his apology catching in his throat. He barely came up to Kei's waist. Ragged, grey socks poked through the toes of his old leather shoes. They probably wouldn’t last the winter. 

“‘M sorry, sir,” he mumbled, leaving a long shiny streak on his sleeve where he wiped his bright red nose. 

Kei dropped some change on a nearby stall, picked a warm sweet bun from their wares, and tossed it to the boy.

“Watch where you’re going next time.”

The boy gazed at the food in his hands and then at the vendor. She smiled warmly and nodded. He bowed, nearly folding in half before he snapped upright and raced away into the alley behind the corner pub. Several dirty faces peeked out from the shadows as the boy tore his roll to pieces and began handing it out to the other children.

Kei pulled his wool coat tighter around his shoulders as he crossed the street. He walked through the town square without so much as a glance at the library. He still had too many books piled on his desk at home to justify a stop. 

His mother liked to say the Tsukishima household was the shining jewel of the old town, but Kei didn’t see it. It was a tall, skinny thing built from tan stone, not like the brightly painted houses along the canals. Decorative sills were carved round all the windows, and a sweeping stair led up to the bright red door. It was just another building sandwiched between other homes more or less the same. 

His feet sank into the plush carpet as he stepped inside and called a greeting. He shrugged out of his jacket and contemplated just leaving it on the railing for Yachi to put away later, but the scent of fish and seawater caught his nose. An unfamiliar coat hung on one of the hooks by the door.

The housekeeper’s niece chose that moment to step out of the living room, shaking hands clasped in front of her. 

“Do we have company?” he asked. 

Yachi’s face paled. She was a nervous thing on the best of days, but the color rising in her cheeks and the wringing of her hands set him on edge. His father and brother were probably still in the office, and his mother wasn’t due back from her meeting with the civil planning committee until that evening. 

“You should have told them to call later rather than have them lurking around when no one’s home. My parents won’t be back for some time yet.”

She squeaked out a frantic apology which he waved off. It wasn't her fault he was about to be stuck making small talk for the next - he glanced at the clock on the wall - three quarters of an hour at least. 

“I’m sorry, Tsukishima-san, but he actually asked for you.” 

That gave him pause. He could think of only one person who would bother visiting him, and he wouldn’t have gone through the front door. 

“He’s a sailor. I didn’t recognize him,” she continued, the tremor in her voice growing worse. She glanced to the side, as if checking no one was listening. Kei narrowed his eyes. A hardworking, honest person like Yachi did not have secrets worth hiding. 

Something twisted in his gut, and his grip tightened on his jacket. His pulse matched the ticking of the clock over his shoulder.

“He asked for Tsukki.”


	2. Take Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tsukki meets Yams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this whole thing in chronological order, but as I was putting it together I decided to try something a little different with this fic. The chapters will alternate back and forth between the present and the past. I'm really curious to see how this works in the end, so as always I'm super excited to hear feedback!

_-Then-_

Kei should have drowned when he was eleven years old, and that’s not even hyperbole. 

The waves swept softly beneath his feet as he wandered along the old pier, crouching down every now and then to examine the wooden supports that disappeared beneath the water. He crinkled his nose. The sea breeze left trails of condensation on his glasses, and he could already feel his hair going crispy. His tutor had explained barnacles to him in their most recent lesson, and he was determined to find one for himself. Akiteru always said an academic should value first-hand experience.

But the boards beneath his feet were tired and weather-beaten. With a mournful groan they gave way, and he dropped like a stone into the frigid water. 

He tried to force himself back to the surface, but the water slipped through his fingers. The light rippled above him, filtering through dark blue water. He stretched his legs, scrambling to find purchase, but his feet couldn’t touch the bottom. The great expanse of the unknown yawned beneath his toes waiting to swallow him whole. His pulse raced, from fear or lack of air he didn’t know. Didn’t care. He needed to kick faster. The weight of the ocean around him pressed against his chest, his throat, his mouth.

Darkness crept around the edge of his vision. As his body screamed to release the air he held tight, something wrapped around his waist and hauled him through the water. 

A kraken. He had seen the sketches on the edges of the maps in his parents’ study. Great beasts with giant tentacles that drew unsuspecting ships to their doom. Surely one couldn’t hide in the bay. He writhed and squirmed and tried to escape, but the thing kept its hold on him. 

This was how it would end. Dragged to the deep, never to be seen again.

But the water around him grew brighter, and he was not lost to the depths but hauled onto the beach. His fingers dug into the sand as he choked for air. And it was not a giant squid but a boy kneeling in front of him. Water dripped from his unruly olive brown hair onto his freckled cheeks.

“Are you okay?” the boy asked. 

Kei pushed himself off the beach and sat back on his heels. He took a moment to adjust his glasses - thank goodness he hadn’t lost them - and gather himself. He sat up straight, making sure to look down his nose. 

“I’m fine.”

“Oh, good! I got so scared when you didn’t come back up.” The other boy slouched back, his own chest heaving. 

“Were you watching me?” His suspicion threw the other boy off balance, and Kei could feel himself breathing easier. 

He went bright pink and stammered an apology. “I wasn’t watching you or anything! It’s just no one else usually comes down here, and I was gonna go fishing, but I didn’t want to bother you so, um, I’m sorry!” He jumped to his feet, grabbing a banged up, metal pail in one hand and a sad excuse for a fishing rod in the other. Before he could flee, Kei’s curiosity got the better of him.

“You’re fishing?”

The boy’s grip on the bucket handle tightened until his fingers went white. His wet shirt clung to his scrawny frame, and his knees had nearly worn through his trousers. He looked like he could barely lift a feather pillow let alone drag another boy out of the water. He dug his toe in the sand and nodded. 

The wind from the bay made Kei shiver, and yet he found himself asking, “Can you show me?”

The boy tilted his head to the side, brows pulling together. ”Show you how to fish?”

Kei wiped his glasses on the hem of his shirt. It wasn’t doing much to clean them given the fact it was soaked, but he needed to do something with his hands. 

“Obviously. My tutors are never going to teach me that.”

The boy grinned. “Sure! If you want. I’m Tadashi.”

“My name is Tsuki-” Kei sneezed, nearly losing his glasses with the force of it. 

“Okay, Tsukki! Come on. I usually sit over on the rocks. Sometimes I can even find crayfish underneath ‘em!” 

Kei didn’t have time to correct Tadashi’s mistake before he ran off down the shore to a heap of grey boulders at the water’s edge. 

They laid their shirts out in the sun to dry and spent the rest of the afternoon scrambling over the rocks looking for tide pools and taking turns with the fishing rod. It was nothing more than a stripped branch with a bit of fishing line tied to the end, but they managed to catch a few fish on the bent metal hook, some bigger than their hands. Tadashi held up each one for Kei to examine before he placed them in the bucket. Kei made sure to take thorough mental notes so he could identify them when he got back to his encyclopedia. 

Once the sunset bloomed red across the sky, casting their shadows across the sand, Kei stood and stretched. 

“I should go before my parents get worried.”

“Oh, yeah. I should do that, too.” Tadashi glanced to the side, wrapping his arms around his knees. “I had fun today.” 

“Me too,” Kei replied, surprised to find he wasn’t even being facetious. 

“Would you maybe want to fish again? Or we could do something else together. But only if you want,” Tadashi added quickly. 

Kei linked his hands behind his back, his fingers twisting together as he looked out over the water. “Sure.”

Tadashi perked up. “Really?” 

“Really.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

Tadashi grabbed the bucket brimming with their day’s haul. “Okay, Tsukki! I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” 

Kei nodded, watching as Tadashi navigated the rocks barefoot and clambered back onto the street.


	3. A Grave Left Unattended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kei has an unexpected visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, folks! 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and kind words so far. I'm really excited to share this fic with you :) 
> 
> Just a lil content warning - Tsukki experiences some symptoms consistent with a panic attack at the end of the chapter. It's just the second to last paragraph of the chapter (starting with "Iron bars locked") if you want to skip! 
> 
> Also I'm going to be posting a little Aofuta multi-chap fic the week leading up to Valentine's Day so keep an eye out if that's your jam!

_-Now-_

Despite his modest appearance, Kei’s broad-shouldered visitor seemed unbothered by the carefully curated refinement of the Tsukishima family parlor. The man stood in front of the fireplace, his calloused hands clasped behind his back. His boots were functional but well-made, and his clothes, though not of the highest quality, were clearly treated with care. His head tilted to the side, two fingers tapping out a rhythm against his wrist as he examined the family portrait above the mantle. 

“I hear you are looking for me.”

The man turned as Kei stepped across the threshold. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Kei, but he was a sturdy sort with the unflappable self-assurance of a mountain. There was nothing exceptional about him, though Kei got the sense he was not worth trifling with. The man’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, his expression softening once their eyes met. 

“Are you Tsukki? Tsukishima Kei?”

“Do I know you?” Kei’s ice cold stare did little to phase him.

“Apologies. My name is Sawamura Daichi, but everyone calls me Daichi.”

“That hardly answers the question, Sawamura-san.”

The man blinked blankly before his face broke into a startled smile. 

“He wasn’t kidding about you.”

Kei narrowed his eyes, and the man’s amusement faded. 

Silence encompassed Kei like armor as he strode to the window and gazed over the street. Grey clouds had obscured any trace of blue sky remaining. The man shifted in his periphery.

He was definitely a dock-worker, but Kei couldn’t recall ever hearing his name. Given the circumstances, he doubted this was a normal social visit. Whatever he was after, Kei was willing to entertain this man out of curiosity - if only to discover how he learned that nickname. 

“What is it you want, Sawamura-san?”

The man took a deep breath, an unsettling resolve squaring his shoulders. “I apologize for calling on you like this, but you were the only friend or family Tadashi ever mentioned, so I wanted to at least try and contact you. I was surprised when your name brought me to this side of town.”

“What exactly does Yamaguchi have to do with this?”

The man’s stoic demeanor faltered. “You may wish to sit down.” 

Kei did not. 

Daichi ran a hand through his hair. “Tsukishima-san, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Tadashi didn’t make it back with us.”

Kei’s heart kicked against his ribs. “I’m afraid I must ask you to elaborate. I don’t understand.”

“I was the first mate on the expedition Tadashi left on three months ago. There was a storm, and Tadashi,” he faltered. “We lost him.”

A cold clamminess crawled over Kei’s skin. The man appeared earnest, his expression pained. What a performance it was. 

“You’re lying.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Really? Then explain to me how you ended up in my parlor when I know for a fact that his ship hasn’t returned yet,” he shot back, his own logic soothing his spiraling thoughts. 

“We only got as far as Sendai City. Our ship was damaged and couldn’t make the journey all the way back to Miyagi.”

“A likely story, I’m sure,” he replied. Kei’s patience had officially run out. “What are you playing at?”

The man’s face pinched with confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Is it money you want? A thank you for bearing such grave news about my dear friend? Don’t hold yourself back. Your wish is my command,” Kei replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“You think I’m here for money?”

“Life as a sailor isn’t easy, Sawamura-san. My family is well-known in this town. I can’t blame you for trying to use Yamaguchi’s connections. It was a good story, too.”

Daichi’s hands balled at his sides. “I may not be the usual sort of company that graces your home, Tsukishima-san, but I assure you I did not come here to make a profit. We were barely able to make it back with our lives.” He pulled back, turning away to compose himself. “I wasn’t sure if I should come,” he continued quietly, “but I thought that, as his friend, you deserved to know. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to be left waiting.”

“Why should I believe you?” 

“You don’t have to take my word for it. I told you we arrived three days ago in Sendai. With your connections I’m sure you can confirm that.”

“Yachi,” he called, pulse pounding in his throat. Her head poked into the room. “Bring me the shipping report from my mother’s desk. The ones for Sendai.”

Kei stalked across the room while he waited. Daichi remained in the corner, his gaze never once faltering. 

This was madness. He had to be after something. If not money, then a job? Information? Kei linked his hands behind his back, the urge to fidget buzzing beneath his skin. He would not let this man see his uneasiness. 

Yachi raced back into the room moments later, not bothering to try and break the charged silence as she handed him the papers. With a quick bow, she scurried back into the hall.

Kei scanned the pages, and his heart sank. There in black and white, printed in his mother’s perfect handwriting, was the one name he didn’t wish to see. 

_The Great King - damaged en route. Sent for repair. No cargo lost. One crewmate reported lost at sea._

The words forced the air from Kei’s lungs, the pages creasing in his grip. He let them fall onto the low table in front of the settee and returned to the window, covering his mouth with his hand. Kei closed his eyes, each breath sending the panic deeper and deeper into his chest, down until he could speak over it. 

“What happened?” he asked quietly. 

“I don’t think-”

“Tell me what happened.” 

Daichi sighed and sank onto the settee. It was comical, the weather beaten sailor perched on the edge of the floral cushion. 

“We were told it was an expedition to map the coast,” he began, “but the captain only used that as an excuse to get funding. He had a map, one that was supposed to lead to some treasure. It was a god damn wild goose chase,” Daichi laughed bitterly. “He was out of his mind, and the crew was terrified. It was a frozen wasteland up there to begin with. The currents were all over the place, and there were rocks and icebergs. Tadashi was sent ashore to scout for a place to weather out an upcoming storm, but it rolled in faster than we thought, and we ended up getting swept back out to sea. The captain was furious, but one of the masts was damaged, so we had to turn back.” Daichi took a steadying breath and wiped his shaky hands on his trousers. 

“You left him behind?” Despair welled in Kei’s stomach, clawing up his throat. “Did you even try to get him back?” 

Gone was the quiet calm he so carefully maintained. They had abandoned one of their own to save their own skins. If this man had come looking to be absolved of his sins, he would find no such clemency here. 

“Tsukishima-san-” 

“I thank you for your time, Sawamura-san,” he cut in. “I’m sure you did everything you could.” 

The man flinched, sending a twisted flare of victory up Kei’s spine. 

“I am sorry we couldn’t do more,” Daichi replied as he stood.

“You can see yourself out.”

Footsteps faded down the hall followed by the creak and thud of the front door swinging shut. Daichi slowly descended the steps, pausing to look back at Kei when he reached the center of the road. He pulled a knit cap over his head, slipped his hands into his pockets, and hunched his shoulders against the winter wind as he disappeared into the ebb and flow of the city. 

Iron bars locked around Kei’s lungs, and he grabbed onto the back of a nearby chair, the suffocating silence only punctuated by the tick, tick, tick of the clock on the mantle. His throat burned as pressure built behind his ribs. Each second turned his stomach and clawed at his skin, each one tearing him further away from what was right. What was real. 

The floor gave way beneath him, and Kei lost himself to the yawning expanse of despair. Only this time, no one was there to pull him out.


	4. Whatever Might Await Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kei makes his first friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am weak for childhood friends. That is all.
> 
> Also Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you are safe and healthy and eating lots of yummy treats wherever you are ♡

_-Then-_

Kei returned to the little beach the next morning to find the freckled boy reclining at the end of the pier, his toes skimming the surface of the water. He lazily kicked his legs, his shoulders dipping with a soft sigh. 

“Hello.” 

Tadashi jolted, nearly losing his balance as he spun around. 

“I’m not diving in after you if you fall in.”

“Right. Sorry, Tsukki!” Tadashi pushed off the worn planks and dashed to the sun-warmed sand. “You’re here,” he said, voice a little breathless. 

Kei shifted under his earnest gaze. As they hadn’t set a specific time to meet the previous day, he had actually walked by several times that morning to look for him. If anyone had a right to be surprised it was him, but he decided to leave out that particular detail. 

“I said I would be,” he replied instead. 

“Yes. I just, I didn’t think...I wasn’t sure if you really would.” Tadashi's face grew steadily redder as he twisted his fingers in front of his chest. 

“Oh.”

Tadashi seemed to catch himself fidgeting and clasped his hands behind his back.

“So. What do you want to do today?” he asked. “We did what I wanted last time, so you can pick.”

What was once a pleasant warmth from the sun turned feverish. He wiped clammy palms on his trousers. He hadn’t a clue what to do. He hadn’t really thought this whole thing through beyond having bragging rights at dinner when Akiteru asked him what he had been up to that day.

_Hanging out with a friend,_ he would say with an indifferent shrug between bites. He could already picture the face Akiteru would pull.

He didn’t really puzzle out what “hanging out” actually involved. He should probably say something, but the harder he grasped at the wispy trails of thought in his mind, the farther they slipped away. Tadashi tilted his head.

“I don’t know. What do you usually do?” he managed to ask. It was a little sharper than he meant, but it was better than sour silence.

“We could play a game?” he offered. “Like tag or hide and seek or, um, something.”

“Hide and seek?” 

“Yeah! It’s where everyone hides and one person has to go find them. It might not be as fun with just the two of us, but it doesn’t really matter.”

“You usually play with a lot of kids?”

“The other neighborhood kids let me join in sometimes. Not a lot, though, so sometimes they forget about me. But if I’m the only person you have to find, then you definitely won’t forget, right?” 

“Why would you play with them if they forget you?” It was better not to play at all rather than have some stupid kids treat him like he wasn’t worth remembering. 

“Because it’s nice. To be included, I mean. They go to the park and kick a ball around, and it looks like lots of fun. But it’s always all the big kids, and they look kind of scary.”

“My brother does that with his friends. That or talk about stuff.”

“He does? Do you want to play that?”

“We don’t have a ball.”

“Then we could talk about stuff?” Tadashi lowered himself onto the sand and sat stiffly. Kei joined him, opting to sit on the scrubby grass by the stone wall rather than on the sand itself. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Tadashi chewed his lip. “So what kind of things do they usually talk about?”

“I don’t know. Boring stuff.”

“Oh.”

The silence between them curdled into an awkward pause, and a bead of sweat dripped down Kei’s spine. Seconds crawled over his skin like the sting of fire ants. This was such a bad idea. Akiteru was right. He didn’t have any friends and for good reason. He couldn’t think of anything more excruciating than this. Why did people enjoy this? He never felt like more of an idiot. He wasn't outgoing or fun to be around like stupid Akiteru. Not that he’d ever admit it to his brother. Only he knew. And now Tadashi would find out, too. 

He stood quickly and brushed off his trousers just as Tadashi began to speak. The other boy shrank back. They stared mutely at each other for a moment. 

“Is everything okay?” Tadashi asked, his voice wavering. He tugged at a strand of grass. “Um, it’s okay if you have to go or something. You don’t have to stay.” He pulled his knees to his chest. Something deep in Kei’s belly twisted at the dejected look on his face. 

Kei gave his pants another brush for good measure. “There was just a bug. On me. I was getting it off. What were you going to say?” he asked, desperate to change the subject. 

Tadashi perked up, his hair flipping up in a sudden sea breeze. “Just that one of the ladies that works in the market has a dog, and she had puppies the other day - the dog, not the lady - and I was thinking if you wanted we could go look. The other kids went the other day and said they were super soft, and I thought it might be fun to go and pet them. If you wanted.”

Kei crossed his arms and looked out to the water, as if mulling the decision over. 

“Sure.”

Two eager brown eyes watched him in awe. “Really? You’ll go with me?”

“I said yes.”

Tadashi scrambled to his feet. “Okay! It’s this way.” He nearly tripped over his feet in his excitement to climb the stairs to the street. Kei shot out a hand and steadied him before he crashed into the stone steps. Tadashi righted himself, cleared his throat, and continued at a much more reasonable pace. 

“I’ve never seen puppies before. There’s a cat at the children’s home, but it’s old and super grumpy, and I don’t think it’s nice enough to have babies. But the mommy dog is this big, fluffy, brown dog, so I bet the babies are gonna be super cute too.”

Kei nodded along, content to fill in pauses with a grunt of acknowledgement or some other nondescript sign he was listening. Tadashi didn’t seem to mind. 

“I was always too scared to pet her, even though all the other kids did, and they called me a scaredy cat. But I want to see the puppies. And since we’re going together, I don’t think it’ll be so bad. Things aren’t so scary when you have a friend. Right, Tsukki?”

Tadashi’s smile was big and crooked, freckled cheeks pulling tight and scrunching his eyes. The salty breeze left his nose and face pink and whipped his shaggy hair around his head.

“I guess.”

Kei slowed to a halt as Tadashi skipped ahead, picking up his endless stream of chatter. For a moment the air stilled, the gulls overhead drifting on a lazy updraft. Kei’s shirt fell still on his back, and the flags of the ships in the port hung limp against their poles. Everything seemed to pause except the boy in front of him, arms swinging at his sides as he balanced on the cobblestones lining the edge of the street. 

“You coming, Tsukki?” Tadashi called over his shoulder. 

The weight of the next breeze carried him forward, feet stumbling slightly to keep up. 

“I’m right behind you.”


	5. A Broken Heart to Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which goodbyes go unsaid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Tsukki processing his feelings (or not). This kinda got a little angsty...whoopsie! might have to add some new tags lol 
> 
> I really want to start posting chapters more frequently for this one since I feel like it's slower and quieter than other stuff I've written, but I've been reordering and editing the middle section, so I'm trying to make sure i'm happy with things before I begin rushing. I always get impatient XD I just wanna introduce more characters and get to the adventure time hijinks!!

_-Now-_

Only the shadows tracking across the wall marked the passing of time. The light burned gold as the sun set, washing over the piano tucked in the corner of the parlor and fading to black as the clock struck six. The front door opened and closed once again, but this time Akiteru called out a greeting. He peeked into the living room, his cheerful demeanor faltering. 

“Kei, what’s the matter? Did something happen?” He strode across the room and knelt in front of his brother, pressing his hand against his forehead to check for a fever. 

Irritation flared in Kei’s chest, and he shoved his brother’s frigid hand away. The precarious balance he had struck shattered, and the pressure creeping up his throat threatened to break free once more. Not trusting himself to speak, he pulled away from his brother and shoved past him, his feet carrying him upstairs to his room. Akiteru followed close behind, his hand shooting out to catch the door before Kei could slam it shut. 

“Kei, talk to me.” His voice was urgent now.

“You wouldn’t care,” Kei snapped. He pulled the heavy curtains over his window, blocking the first pinpricks of light dotting the darkening sky. He balled his hands, clenching his teeth. He was not going to lose control. 

Akiteru hovered by the door looking wounded. 

“You’re my brother. If you’re upset, I care.” Kei snorted, but Akiteru took a tentative step forward. “Is it about Tadashi?” he asked softly. 

Kei stiffened, eyes fixed on the shrouded window. He refused to watch the understanding bloom in his brother’s eyes. 

“I told you it doesn’t concern you.”

“He’s your friend.”

“You made it very clear what you think about my choice of friend a long time ago."

Akiteru flinched. His brows pulled together, eyes registering the hurt Kei so deeply wanted him to feel. But his older brother said nothing, the silence settling between them answer enough. 

Guilt crept up his spine, so Kei cleared his throat, the muscles in his neck straining as he tried to swallow. “He was left behind. They think he’s dead.” He dug his nails into his palms, ignoring how his voice cracked on the last word. 

“I’m so sorry, Kei.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” He scraped the depths of his hollowed out chest for the last vestiges of bitterness he could summon. Akiteru sighed, resting his head in his hands. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs. 

“When are you going to let it go? We were kids.”

“Would you do things differently now?” he challenged. 

Akiteru didn’t rise to meet him, just stared at him with that look of sad understanding. 

“I know he meant a lot to you.”

“At least this will make things simple." 

“What do you mean?”

“The family can rest easy knowing I won’t be associating with the likes of him anymore. He was never going to fit into all of this anyway, isn’t that right?”

“I was trying to protect you. I never wanted you to get hurt.” Akiteru reached out, but Kei pulled his arm back. His brother faltered, retreating to the threshold of the room. “You lost your best friend, Kei. No matter how hard you try, you won’t convince me you don’t care."

“It doesn’t matter how I feel because he’s gone.”

The words were strangled by the burning pressure in his throat. Kei turned away, biting the inside of his cheek. He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. 

This was bound to happen eventually. Whether by death or their place in life, they were going to have to go their separate ways at some point. It was a childish fantasy to think otherwise. 

“Kei-”

“Don’t bother calling me down for dinner.”

If Akiteru noticed the tremor in his voice, he didn’t mention it. He just let out a quiet sigh, his fading footsteps muffled by the plush carpet. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

Kei dropped onto the edge of his bed and stared at the swirling pattern of the rug beneath his feet. His fingers gripped his shirt above his heart as if it could stop the damn thing from hurting. He doubted that ironing alone would be enough to rid it of the wrinkles left behind. 

He slowed his breathing, letting the chaos and turmoil sink deeper, the familiar veil of apathy rising to the surface. Soon enough he could breathe again, his earlier panic and rage quieting to muted despair, weighing down his limbs and clouding his mind.

Yamaguchi’s absence was something Kei had never grown used to over the years. It was something to be endured, a constant tickling at the back of his mind that only quieted upon his return. Now it seemed fate would force him to see through what he had been too afraid to do on his own. 

Kei hauled himself upright, his eyes falling on the encyclopedia laying on his bookshelf and the tiny wrapped present resting on top of it, tied off with a red ribbon. 

Maybe Akiteru had been right. He should’ve left all of this behind a long time ago. A clean break. Not selfish fantasies and gifts left undelivered. 

He righted his shirt and walked over to his desk. He pulled open the top drawer and shuffled through loose papers and old assignments before he found the small, wooden music box tucked beneath. Sinking into his desk chair, Kei brushed his thumb along the grain of the lid as he opened it. Three turns of the tiny handle jutting out of the side set the pieces in motion, and a tinny melody drifted through the room. 

The notes were hollow, seeming to only emphasize the emptiness around him. He snapped the lid shut, and the room fell silent once more. 

He returned the music box to the drawer and, as an afterthought, grabbed the encyclopedia and gift from the shelf and tossed them in after, burying them all beneath the stack of papers. 

This was all just another absence to endure. As much as it hurt, eventually Yamaguchi would fade into a hazy memory. At least this way he didn’t have to say that final goodbye face to face. 

Tsukishima Kei was, after all, a coward.


	6. This Look In Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it is too cold outside to play, so our boys go to the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay on this one! This week has been kicking my butt lol 
> 
> On a fluffy note, I did write a kiyoyachi one shot yesterday, so feel free to check that out if it's your jam ^^

_-Then-_

Within a week of receiving his new encyclopedia - a present for doing well on his tutorial assessments - Kei had read the entire thing. Closing the back cover had been like waking from a dream. Akiteru said it was scary how he could read through some dry, old book like that, but for Kei the same animal instinct that led him to draw air into his lungs drove him to consume every word on the page. He shrugged away Akiteru’s playful teasing, knowing full well he lacked the ability to articulate that particular feeling without sounding ridiculous. 

Tadashi would like it. Or so he hoped. He adjusted the heavy, leather-bound tome under his arm as he made his way to their beach. The cold, autumn air bit at his uncovered fingers, and he wished he had thought to bring gloves. He pulled his jacket collar tight around his neck with his free hand. 

They weren’t going to be able to keep meeting here as the chill of winter settled over the seaside. He had barely even warmed his toes since last winter. Why couldn’t they live somewhere where the sun liked to stick around for more than a few months at a time?

His grumbling distracted him until he reached the top of the stone steps. Tadashi sat at the bottom humming a funny little song. Sea shanties, he called them. Apparently the workers down at the dock sang them to help pass the time. Kei didn’t really get it, but Tadashi also never remembered any of the words, so he figured he might just be missing something. 

“Hello, Tadashi.”

“Tsukki!” 

Kei had provided the other boy with his full name some time ago, but the nickname still stuck. Being referred to in that manner was a novel sensation, curious more than anything else. Kei decided further investigation of the phenomenon was in order. As such, it was only right to let Tadashi continue using it. For the time being, at least. 

“It’s too cold outside,” said Kei, switching his encyclopedia to the other arm so he could shove his frigid fingers into his pocket. 

Tadashi drew swirling lines in the sand with a twig. He was wearing the same outfit as always but with a thin, patchwork jacket that swamped his slight frame. Kei sank further into the warmth of his own wool coat. 

“We don’t have to play today if you don’t want.”

Kei clicked his teeth. 

“I didn’t come all this way just to turn around. We can go somewhere else.”

“Oh, okay!” Tadashi beamed. “Where do you want to go?”

“We could visit the library.”

“The library? Can I go in there?” he asked, eyes sparkling.

“Of course. Anyone can go to the library. Have you never been?” Kei froze. “Do you not like books or something?” He didn’t think he could be friends with someone that didn’t like books. 

Tadashi shook his head as his shoulders curled inward. 

“No, books are nice. I’d love to...I’d love to see them.”

Relieved, Kei headed towards town. 

“Come on, I’ll show you. It’s the best place ever.”

The pair skirted a flock of pigeons loitering as they crossed the main square, but the mid-morning bell ringing out from the clocktower set the birds scattering into the air, their shadows catching on the windowed facade of the library. The building itself was a simple square of stone, embellished with four columns and little else, save for the ornate, carved arch above the door bearing the words “Open To All”. 

Tadashi brushed his shoes on the mat just inside. Kei doubted it would do much to clean the dust-caked leather, but he approved of the effort. Light streamed through the windows into the foyer, but Kei did not pause to marvel. He made a beeline to the set of doors beyond and passed into the library proper. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the chamber. The center of the room was open all the way to the arched roof above, two more floors of books circling the space above them. A spiral staircase rose on their left, leading to the second floor. Tadashi gazed around the room in awe. 

“I didn’t know there were so many,” he whispered reverently. 

“My brother is going to go to the university soon, and when he gets there he’ll be able to see all the really old, important books they keep locked away.”

“That’s amazing! You’re brother must be really, really smart.”

Pride warmed Kei’s chest as he led the other boy to a small reading nook tucked behind the last row of shelves. Kei laid his encyclopedia down on the worn desk, the surface marred by the graffiti of students past. 

“Here. I wanted to show this to you.” Tadashi leaned over, mouth hanging open as Kei flipped through the pages. “This book has facts about everything.”

“Everything?” 

“This is where I looked up all the fish we caught. You can look.” He passed the book over.

Tadashi reached out a tentative hand, turning each page with reverent awe. Kei picked at the cuff of his sleeve. 

“It’s wonderful,” Tadashi whispered. He pointed to a picture of an orange and black striped cat stalking through a jungle. “What does it say about this?” He looked from Kei to the page, nearly vibrating with excitement. 

“Just read it yourself.”

“But I don’t know how,” he replied. 

Kei’s face warmed. 

“Oh, well, it’s a tiger. It says that tigers are the largest member of the cat family.”

“And what about this?”

“It’s about the tides, the way the ocean moves. It says that the regular variations in sea level are caused by changes in the positions of the moon and the sun ”

“The moon makes the ocean move? No way!” He traced his fingertips over the words. “It’s like magic.”

“It’s not magic. It’s just a book.” 

“Oh, right. Sorry, Tsukki.” Tadashi dropped his hands into his lap, his fingers twisting together. 

Kei pursed his lips, hands flexing at his sides. He hadn’t meant that to come out so harsh. 

“What I mean is there’s no secret trick. Anyone can learn how. You just need to know the rules.” Kei flattened a small crease at the corner of the page they were on. “I could teach you.”

The look of unbridled hope Tadashi gave him made Kei shift uncomfortably in his seat. 

“You’d really do that?”

“Sure. It’s too cold to do stuff outside anyway.” He looked down his nose at Tadashi. “I’m a strict teacher, though.”

Tadashi sat up straight, face determined and deadly serious. 

“Of course! I’ll work hard.” 

“So will I.”


	7. A Promise To Follow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it's time to give up on giving up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's happening........

_-Now-_

Sleep had not come easily the night before. In fact, it hadn’t come at all. If not for Akiteru’s pitying glances, Kei might have been able to convince himself it had all been a dream. But his plan to hole up in his room until the dull ache in his chest faded had gone right out the window as soon as he collapsed into bed. His mind wandered in the quiet dark, back to hushed conversations whispered beneath blankets, of brown eyes wide with a quiet wonder Kei could never replicate, recalling the strange comfort of walking out the door knowing someone was waiting for him. Knowing that all of those things were gone.

His eyes drifted to the sliver of starry sky peeking between his curtains. 

He had escaped the memory-laden walls of his room as soon as the sun was up, the stack of books he needed to return tucked under his arm. His feet carried him through town by instinct alone. 

But the ghosts of Yamaguchi were not restricted to his room.

Where Yamaguchi should have been lounging at the top of the library steps, smiling wide as he waved to him across the square, there was only cold, barren stone. 

He pushed his glasses up, his thumb and forefinger rubbing his dry eyes. 

“Tsukki?”

Kei whirled around, panic clawing at the back of his throat and he dared to hope. 

His gaze dropped. A small boy stared up at him, his head cocked to the side and crowned with a blazing shock of orange hair. Something scratched at the back of Kei’s brain, a familiarity he couldn’t quite place. He doubted he would forget an appearance like that even without that name - a name no one had the right to use anymore. 

“Who are you?”

“I’m Hinata Shoyou. I...I’m a friend of Tadashi’s,” he replied. His throat bobbed as though the words were hard to swallow. 

And suddenly Kei was back in the marina, the ocean breeze cool against his skin as the frantic redhead bounced up and down in the distance, waving to Tadashi from the deck of a ship. 

“Daichi-san said he saw you,” he added. 

Kei’s spine stiffened. “Did he?” 

Hinata shrank back as their eyes met, his face twisting into a half pout, half scowl. The kid was scrawny, but the wiry muscles, the scars on his arms, the freckles dotted over his skin from hours in the sun were all too familiar. 

“Yeah. What did he tell you?”

“Is your name Sawamura-san?”

“No. I’m Hinata Shoyou! I just told you. There’s no way you forgot already.”

Kei rolled his eyes. “I’m implying that it’s none of your business what we discussed.”

“Tadashi is my friend.”

“He’s nice to everyone. Doesn’t mean you deserve the title.”

“And you do?”

“I’m not the one that left him behind.” 

Hinata deflated, aiming a half-hearted kick at the library stairs. His face tugged into a sardonic smile. 

“You really must be Tsukki. He said you were an asshole.” 

Kei’s scathing retort withered on his tongue. He wasn’t wrong.

“My name is Tsukishima Kei,” he offered, if only to get this stranger to stop calling him that. 

“It wasn’t our fault.”

“Fine.” Kei turned, his foot on the next step as Hinata squawked behind him.

“You can’t just leave!”

He gestured with the stack of books in his arms. “I have to return these.”

Hinata growled, hands clawing at his hair. “This is not the time for errands, Stupidshima!”

“Then what is it time for? Please enlighten me.”

“Tadashi needs our help.”

“Yamaguchi is dead. Your Daichi-san made that much clear.”

The bumbling, chaotic boy stilled, like the surface of the ocean unbroken by even the smallest wave. Kei suppressed a shiver. Quiet waters ran deep, and who knew what lurked beneath the surface. 

“He was alive.” Hinata balled his fists, fierce determination etched in every line on his face. Kei’s pulse quickened. 

“What?”

“The last we saw of him, he was alive.”

“He was abandoned in a frozen wasteland. It would take a miracle for him to have survived that storm on his own let alone another two weeks.”

Orange hair flickered like the flame of a torch as Hinata pulled an old piece of parchment from beneath his shirt. 

“Some treasure hunt it turned into, huh?”

Though an unfamiliar shape, Kei could see the outline of what appeared to be a coast surrounded by deep blue, swirling waves. 

“Is that a map?” Kei asked.

Hinata nodded. 

“Is that _the_ map?”

Another nod. 

Kei stepped closer, drawn in by the vibrant colors. The ocean surrounding the continent was dotted with all manner of sea monsters dipping beneath the surface, embellished with shimmering gold paint. An elaborate floral border framed the entire thing. A dragon twisted around the right side, a phoenix opening its wings to frame the bottom, and a white tiger prowled up the left hand side, the entire image crowned with a blazing sun. 

“I mean this with all offense intended, but you don’t look like the captain of a ship.”

“Oh, I’m not,” he replied with a cheeky smile. “I learned to keep a close eye on my things a long time ago.” Brown eyes blazed as Hinata stepped into Kei’s personal space. “He could still be alive.”

Hope. Determination. Faith. Kei could read each emotion on that shrimp's face like a book. It set his teeth on edge. 

“You want to go back for him?”

“Well, yeah. But I can’t...I don’t...I’m just one person. And he said you were from some fancy family, so…”

The edge of the map wrinkled as he clenched his hands. Kei’s mouth twisted into a frown. 

“So you want my help to fund your little treasure hunt?”

“It’s not about the treasure!” Hinata insisted. “This map can lead us back to Tadashi.”

“You don’t know that.”

“It’s better than sitting around doing nothing. Don't you even care that he’s gone?”

Ice cold rage coursed through Kei's veins. As if it were that simple. As if hoping and dreaming and working hard were enough to make miracles happen. 

“Don’t pretend you know me.” 

“Fine, whatever,” Hinata grumbled, shoving the map back inside his shirt. “I don’t need you, and neither does Tadashi.”

"I know," he whispered, but Hinata was already storming away back across the square.

Yamaguchi was better off without him. He knew that all those months ago when he let Yamaguchi get on that ship, promising himself that by the time he returned, Kei would be over whatever ridiculous, sentimental thing kept him from letting go. Yamaguchi was dead, and it was pointless to think otherwise. 

Kei’s eyes trailed to the empty steps of the library. 

“Wait.” He started, the word having escaped him unbidden.

“What? You wanna go?” Hinata flailed his arms in what he probably intended to be a threatening gesture. 

“Will you be quiet for two seconds?” 

Hinata pouted, crossing his arms and looking pointedly away. 

"You know you're setting yourself up for disappointment, right?"

Hinata paused, amber eyes drifting out of focus as his shoulders drooped. 

"I know he's probably dead. I know I'll probably never see him again, but as long as we keep looking, there is a chance we can find him, right? But if we give up, then we never will. I'd take the teeniest possibility over that shitty certainty any day."

If this conversation was anything to go by, he was absolutely crazy. The raging, ginger tempest was nothing if not a hazard to one's well-being. But Kei had tried giving up. Perhaps it was time to try a new way of thinking. 

Yamaguchi's absence was something to be endured, but this time, Kei had the chance to do something about it. A ridiculous, idiotic, reckless something, but it was better than his pathetic wallowing. 

Resolve straightened his spine, and Kei glared down his nose. 

“Who do I talk to if I need a boat?”


	8. Winding Us Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we enter unknown territory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing young tsukki & yams gives me such a concentrated shot of seratonin right to the heart. like i swear i could write only them forever and be perfectly happy. 
> 
> Also side note - i went back and edited the end of the last chapter a bit, nothing too major but wanted to mention here in case you were interested!

_ -Then- _

“And they lived ha-happily...ever...after.” Tadashi let out a long sigh, sinking back against the park bench as he closed the book of fairy tales on his lap. “The end.”

“Good job,” Kei said as he rubbed his chilled nose on his jacket sleeve. Warm as it was for springtime in Miyagi, they had been outside for hours, Kei listening as Tadashi read aloud. The sun had dipped behind the treeline some time ago. 

“That took ages,” Tadashi groaned, hiding his face behind the book. “I think my brain turned into jelly.”

“If it actually had, you wouldn’t be able to complain.”

“Mean, Tsukki. I’m suffering from jelly brain! You have to be nice to me.”

“If reading is enough to melt your brain, I guess I won’t be teaching you to write any time soon.”

Tadashi’s jaw snapped shut. His surprise bloomed into excitement, only for the cold creep of doubt to weigh down his shoulders. 

“I dunno. I mean, we can read the books in the library, but we don’t have any pens or paper or ink, and what if I messed up? I wouldn’t want to ruin it,” Tadashi mumbled as he sank lower in his seat. “‘Sides I don’t really have anything to write about.”

“As it turns out, even people who can write don’t have anything interesting to say either.”

That earned a muffled snort from Tadashi. 

“You won’t ruin anything. Look.” Kei squatted in front of the bench and scribbled in the dirt. “What does that say?”

Tadashi crouched down next to him, face scrunched in concentration. “Tsu...tsuki-” He gasped. “Tsukishima Kei!” 

“Correct.”

Delighted, Tadashi fawned over the words, his finger tracing the rough lines. The awed look on his face set Kei in motion. He reached out his hand once more, but hesitated. 

“What’s your family name?” he asked. 

Tadashi tensed next to him. 

“What?”

“Your family name. So I can write it for you.”

“Oh, um.” He picked at the frayed edge of his shoelace. “It...It’s Yamaguchi.”

Kei slowly drew the characters. Once finished, he wiped another space clear and grabbed Tadashi's hand. Ignoring his frightened squeak, Kei guided his hand across the dirt. 

“Yamaguchi. Tadashi. That’s how you write your name.”

“I don’t think I can remember all the steps,” he said with a breathy laugh as Kei smoothed the dirt with his shoe. Tadashi wrapped his arms around his knees. “I bet it would be fun to send someone a letter.” 

“I could help you write one.”

“That would kind of defeat the purpose, Tsukki,” Tadashi giggled. “Seeing as you’re the only person I’d send one to anyway.”

“Oh,” Kei replied, feeling rather pleased with himself. 

They parted ways not long after. The lamplighters began their rounds as Kei walked home, the flickering circles of light taking shape as night fell. 

After dinner Kei paced in his room, their conversation still itching in the back of his brain. Tadashi’s memorization skills were impressive, but even then it would be hard to teach him to write without constant practice. 

As he often did when searching for inspiration, Kei turned to his bookcase. Dozens of books filled the shelves, each one meticulously organized by genre, author, and title. His finger hooked over the spine of an old novel Akiteru had gifted him for his birthday a few years before. Something about a boy and stolen jewels. The thieves had communicated using a secret written code, and deciphering it helped him solve the case. 

A code. 

He hurried to his desk, grabbed a piece of scrap paper, and began to scribble. Simple. Something quick to learn with room to elaborate. The tap, tap, tap of his pen on the desk filled the silence as he reviewed his work. That just might do.

He hunched over his desk carefully transcribing his chicken scratch into elegant strokes on a fresh page. 

“What are you doing?”

Kei jumped, barely managing to pull his pen back in time to save his hard work. Akiteru poked his head inside the room, oblivious as usual.

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.” 

Kei quickly shuffled the papers on his desk to hide his reference sheet, though the ink was still too wet to cover his work completely. 

Akiteru leaned over his shoulder. “Who’s Tadashi?”

“No one.” He tapped the excess ink from his pen and returned it to its stand. His skin prickled under Akiteru’s scrutiny, but he fought to keep his voice neutral, knowing full well his brother would be absolutely insufferable if he learned too much. 

“A friend?” 

“He’s just an acquaintance.”

“Oh my goodness. You have a friend.”

“I do not.”

“Fine, fine. He’s not your friend.” Akiteru propped his hip on Kei’s desk, a frustratingly cheeky grin plastered on his face. “So how did you and your casual socializing associate meet?” 

Kei let his head drop onto his desk. Perhaps it would just be faster to give him what he was after. 

“At the beach. We went fishing.”

“Little, fussy Kei went fishing? You must like him very well if he convinced you to do that.”

“And I’m liking you less and less.”

“Don’t be like that.” Akiteru crossed the room and flopped onto the sofa, one leg dangled over the side. “You should invite him over.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it is what newly established casual socializing associates do.” He propped himself up on his elbows. “I know you’re not keen on the whole friends concept, but don’t you think it might be worth trying out?”

“As if it’s that simple,” Kei muttered. He rubbed at a spot of ink on his ring finger. 

Something people do. Like talking about the weather or gossiping or parading around at parties. Things Kei had no inclination to take part in. By himself there were no awkward pauses, no upset stomachs or lectures on being pleasant. Alone he could let his face sit how it liked and not risk some perfumed auntie pinching his cheek and telling him to smile. Solitude was familiar territory. Friendship, on the other hand, was an unknown continent, one with no map to guide him.

“I’m rubbish at mathematics, but you make it look easy,” Akiteru replied. “We all have things that come more easily to us. The only way to improve is to practice.”

“Socializing isn’t an academic subject.”

"It’s a skill.” Akiteru hauled himself to his feet, examining the dozens of carefully folded paper animals dotting the mantle above Kei’s fireplace. He was particularly proud of his most recent creation - a tiger. “When you try something new and it works out, it’s a pretty great feeling.”

Kei twisted his fingers in his lap. Friendship was an unexplored territory, but if he were to have a friend, one like Tadashi might not be so bad. 

“Plus, I’d love to meet the guy that got through to the great, anti-social Tsukishima Kei.”

“Get out.”

“I jest, I jest.” Akiteru held up his hands in surrender. “Just think about it. And if all else fails, you’ll still have me.”

“What a relief.”

“You wound me, Kei-chan.”

“And you annoy me. Out.” Kei leveled his deadliest glare at his brother until he backed out the door. 

Quiet restored, he returned to the task at hand. He didn’t have time to bother with Akiteru’s antics. Not if he wanted to have his idea ready before their meeting the next day. 

**Author's Note:**

> Side note: I've started keeping a list of my upcoming fics in my profile (just the ones that I'm positive I'll end up posting, not all of them lol), so feel free to check it out and yell at me in the comments if any sound good to you <3 Also if you have any pairings/tropes/random plot bunnies you love, I'm totally open to suggestions for some one-shots or something! 
> 
> The fic title and chapter names are from the English translation of "Your Eyes Tell" by BTS and "The Word I Couldn't Keep" from the Nancy Drew Sea of Darkness Soundtrack.


End file.
